Woman's body found in Merrimack River in Manchester

MANCHESTER - A passerby discovered a body of a woman in the Merrimack River on Saturday morning, police said.

'It appears someone had discovered a body partially submerged in the Merrimack River by Jillian's,' Lt. James Soucy said.

Detectives are investigating the discovery in the Millyard around 6:55 a.m.

The state Attorney General's Office hadn't been called in by mid-morning, he said.

The body was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Concord for an autopsy, Soucy said.

Michael O'Brien, who works for O'Brien's Outdoor Services in Bedford, said he showed up around 7 a.m. to do landscaping work and saw police cruisers, a fire truck and an ambulance.

'We were told not to go back there' near the Granite Street Bridge, he said.

After hearing someone found a body, O'Brien said, 'Obviously, that's a shocker.'

Last year, he said his boss found someone badly beaten up in the same general area.

'I guess it's not that unusual for things like that to occur down there,' he said.

On Thursday afternoon, a passerby in Nashua spotted a body found partially submerged in the Nashua River. Police haven't released the man's name but said it could be that of a 43-year-old man reported missing in February.